Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Governor, took an early lead on Tuesday when the Independent National Electoral Commission resumed the collation of governorship election results in Port Harcourt.
Wike, who is seeking a second term in office, won in 13 out of the 15 local government areas announced by INEC amid heavy security outside the collation centre.
The Collation Officer, Prof. Teddy Adias, who announced the results, began the exercise at 10.30am with a promise that the process would be transparent.
The governor’s closest rival and the governorship candidate of the African Action Congress, Biokpomabo Awara, won in two local government areas.
Wike got the highest votes in Andoni, the local government area of the National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, where he garnered 92,056 votes to beat Awara, who got 5,335 votes.
In Ikwerre LGA, Wike polled 14,938 votes as against Awara’s 5,660 votes while in Port Harcourt City, the incumbent governor got 40,197 votes to beat the AAC candidate, who polled 11,866 votes.
The situation was the same in Eleme and Opobo/Nkoro LGAs, where the PDP candidate garnered 9,560 votes and 63,141 votes to Awara’s 2,748 votes and 3,888 votes, respectively.
In Bonny and Okrika LGAs, the incumbent governor scored 10,551 votes and 25,572 votes respectively to the AAC candidate’s 3,046 votes and 3,803 votes in that order.
Other results show that Wike won in Tai, Omuma, Ahoada East, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Emohua and Etche Local Government Areas.
However, Awara showed strength in Oyigbo Local Government Area as he polled 32,026 to beat Wike, who got 8,652 votes. Awara of the AAC got 36, 661 to beat Wike of the PDP, who polled 25,765 votes in Akuku-Toru LGA.
Party agents observed that the exercise was marred by violence in some of the local government areas.
Austin Opara, an agent of the PDP, while reacting to the result of Oyigbo LGA, said his party accepted the result, noted that elections in the local government area witnessed high level of violence and militarisation.
Meanwhile, there was confusion in Port Harcourt on Tuesday as a peaceful protest organised by pro-AAC groups known as the United Niger Delta for Buhari, and the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in Rivers State, was marred by heavy shootings.
INEC had on Tuesday resumed the coalition of the governorship and the House of Assembly polls results in Rivers State.
But the protesters, who had earlier opposed the collation of the governorship election results in the state, had moved from the Air Force junction to Agip junction in Port Harcourt before hoodlums attacked and dispersed them.
Passersby, who heard the sound of gunshots, took to their heels in order not to be hit by stray bullets.
The action of the thugs ended the protest as members of the group dispersed and left for their various destinations.
At GRA in Port Harcourt, stones and other dangerous objects were freely thrown into the crowd, a development that was immediately followed by intermittent sound of gunshots.
